A Very Royal Scandal, on Prime

Prince Andrew’s Epstein scandal interview will be taught in PR seminars for decades to come as a text book case illustrating why it is often best to keep your client silent and out of the media. The Prince thought it would be a great opportunity to air his “alibis,” but the world widely considered it an absolute train-wreck. As the Queen’s private secretary puts it, Andrew’s sit-down with BBC2’s Emily Maitlis turned into a real “dog’s dinner.” Yet, the once popular Royal should only blame himself, at least judging from director Julian Jarrold’s three-part A Very Royal Scandal, which premieres today on Prime Video.

At the start of the mini-series, it sure looks like it is good to be a Prince, who always enjoys the finest of everything. Unfortunately, money is tight, because of debts run up by the Duke of York and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, with whom he still cohabitates. However, what his mummy and the UK government will not pay for, his pal Jeffrey Epstein usually covers. Yes, that Epstein—the sex-trafficking sex-offender, whom the Prince met him through his childhood friend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Frankly, rumors swirled regarding the Prince’s relationship with Epstein for years. However, they exploded in the British tabloid press when one of Epstein’s victims released a rather candid photo of her and Andy, looking randy. Andrew and his private secretary Amanda Thirsk want to tell his side of the story, but Sir Andrew Young, the Queen’s private secretary and de facto head of the Royal’s private secretarial service cautions otherwise. However, as criticism mounts, Prince Andrew defiantly agrees to an on-camera sit-down with Maitlis, with the understanding the BBC will analyze the photo he argues has been deep-faked.

As everyone knows, the Prince’s interview made Frost-Nixon look like a triumph, comparing to the cringe of Whitney Houston’s “crack is whack.” However, Jarrold and screenwriter Jeremy Brock make it clear what really undermined Andrew was his arrogance, tone-deafness, and lack of compassion for Epstein’s victims. Perhaps for legal reasons, there is a good deal of ambiguity regarding what exactly the Prince did and did not do, as well as how much he knew and when he knew it. Regardless, it is clearly awkward to explain how you met your sex offender friend. Obviously, it was beyond the Prince’s rather limited abilities.

Still, Michael Sheen’s portrayal is surprisingly interesting because he so fully exposes the Royal’s insecurities and resentments. Sheen also leans into his protectiveness of his daughters and the complex emotional entanglements binding him to Ferguson, even after their bitter, Palace-mandated divorce. Instead of evil or scary, he comes across like a weak and pathetic cry-baby, who was poorly served by his lifelong insulation from responsibility.

On the other hand, Maitlis emerges as a one-note caricature: a hard-charging crusader for the truth, who simply cannot help rolling her eyes at dissembling answers, especially when they come from Conservative politicians (but no such outrage for Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-Semitism). Frankly, Ruth Wilson largely relies on two huge Princess Leia-like hair-curlers to humanize Maitlis, who arguably nearly matches the Prince’s arrogance, in her own way.

Nevertheless, the behind-the-scenes bureaucratic in-fighting is fascinating. There is a good deal of sympathy for Thirsk, who Joanna Scanlon portrays as a fiercely loyal protector of her royal “principal,” despite her full understanding of his faults. Alex Jennings also perfectly expresses Sir Edward’s dry, caustic wit.

We can debate whether the Prince’s media implosion deserves three full hours from Prime and one hundred-some minutes from Netflix (who also released Scoop back in April). However, Harry and Meghan must be delighted, because it reminds the audience they are no longer the most disappointing and entitled non-working Royals. Perhaps it ironically elevates Andrew’s importance, but the Royal family politics and media maneuvering are compulsively watchable, in a guilty pleasure kind of way. Recommended for viewers who appreciate tabloid scandals and trashy British TV pretending to be high-brow, A Very Royal Scandal starts streaming today (9/19) on Prime.